Business

A new organization, Friends of the Seaport, which supports plans to redevelop the South Street Seaport, hosted a Town Hall meeting in the Financial District on December 1, drawing more than 100 people to the auditorium of the Pine Street School.

Both the group and the meeting appear to have arisen in response to Save Our Seaport (SOS), a preservation group vigorously opposed to plans formulated by the City’s Economic Development Corporation and its private-sector partner, the Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC), to remake the Seaport neighborhood. Among these is the renovation of Pier 17 into an upscale retail destination, which is currently under way.

But ground has not yet been broken on other aspects of the plan, such as the proposal to move and rehabilitate the landmarked Tin Building, while demolishing the nearby New Market Building (which local preservationists regard as having enormous historic value), and erecting a tall residential tower, which will contain 150 apartments, on the site of the latter. (This is the most controversial aspect of HHC’s proposal, and the one that critics appear to regard as a deal-breaker.) The plan also contains provisions to connect the East River Esplanade as far north as the Brooklyn Bridge, and link it with surrounding parks and waterfront public spaces.

On September 11th, Kenneth Chenault, Chairman and CEO of American Express, was fortunate to be in Salt Lake City, over 2,000 miles away from New York City. But other AMEX personnel weren’t quite so lucky—11 employees were either killed or reported missing due to the tragedy. Hardly surprising when you consider that AMEX’s corporate offices are only 50 feet or so from the Twin Towers site.

But let’s give Chenault credit. He responded quickly and decisively—and not just as a businessman, but as a humanitarian…

He personally ordered the evacuation of the AMEX building minutes after the first plane struck, and by afternoon, he’d called a meeting of his top execs to assure employee safety and customer service—in that order.